Obituaries

Jan 21, 2020

Lewis C. "Chuck" Beemer, 50, Independence, Kansas, died Tuesday, January 21, 2020.  Chuck was born August 26, 1969 in Big Sandy, Texas, to Rodney and Dawn (Rubrecht) Beemer.

He was a 1987 graduate of Southeast of Saline High School. Chuck was a voracious reader and an artist at heart.  He loved drawing and carpentry; he built custom...

Jan 20, 2020

John M. Walmsley, 68, Minneapolis, died suddenly on Monday, January 20, 2020 near Traer.  John was born August 22, 1951 in Salina to Walter and Lois (Johnson) Walmsley.

He was a 1969 graduate of Minneapolis High School and he taught diesel mechanic classes at Salina Vo-Tech for two years.  John was the owner...

Jan 17, 2020

LaVerne K. Ballou, 90, Delphos, died Friday, January 17, 2020 at the Ottawa County Health Center, Minneapolis.  He was born December 11, 1929 on the family farm north of Delphos to Russell Kenneth and Ruth Naomi (Smith) Ballou.

LaVerne was a 1948 graduate of Delphos High School and he attended K-State for one...

Dec 29, 2019

John Fleming, 94, of Minneapolis, passed away Sunday, December 29, 2019, after a brief illness.

John and his late wife Margaret, née Morris, were longtime residents of Minneapolis.  Born in Wichita, he enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 18.  John served as a military policeman in northern France in...

Dec 27, 2019

Sandra G. Tibbits, 48, Minneapolis, died Friday, December 27, 2019 at the Ottawa County Health Center, Minneapolis.  She was born in Hutchinson on March 7, 1971 to Donald and Wanda (Naugle) McKenna.

Sandy attended schools in Hutchinson and was a 1989 graduate of Hutchinson High School.  She and Thomas Tibbits were united in...

Dec 27, 2019

Keith D. "Hoot" Gibson, 84, Salina, died Friday, December 27, 2019 at the Salina Regional Health Center.  He was born November 22, 1935 in Eaton, CO to Carl and Lenora (Mayhew) Gibson.

Keith attended country schools and graduated from Miltonvale High School in 1954.  He spent two years in the United States Army...

Dec 19, 2019

Phil Graves, 67, Bennington, died on Thursday, December 19, 2019 in Salina, KS. He was born January 12, 1952 in Buffalo, NY.

Phil's passions in life were cooking and baking, playing music, gardening, and spending time with family. He was a member of Zion Brethren In Christ Church in Abilene, KS....

Dec 17, 2019

Melvin "Carl" Prater, 69, Wells, passed away on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 at the St. Luke's Heart Institute in Kansas City.  He was surrounded by close family.  From his birth on December 9, 1950, until his death, Carl touched the lives of those he encountered.

The youngest of three boys, Carl was born...

Dec 15, 2019

Joyce Elaine Wild O'Neill, 85, Barnard, died Sunday, December 15, 2019.  She was born on February 9, 1934 the youngest of ten children born to John & Dorothy Wild. She graduated from Lincoln High School and worked at Salina Retailers Association in Salina. She married Jarvis O'Neill on Friday March 26, 1954 at the Presbyterian church in...

Dec 14, 2019

Dean A. Johnson, 83, Minneapolis, died Saturday, December 14, 2019 at Salina Regional Health Center.  Dean was born December 12, 1936 in Kingsbury County, SD to Lovell and Alice (Fenner) Johnson.

He was a graduate of Carthage High School, Carthage, SD. Dean also graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from South...

Dec 14, 2019

Gerald Lee Newell, 77, Minneapolis, passed away Saturday, December 14, 2019 in Salina.  He was born July 26, 1942 to LaVaughn and Catherine (Hammel) Newell.

Gerald and Barbara Murphy were united in marriage in February 1966.  Gerald drove for Graves Truck Lines for 25 years; hauling meat to the west coast and later...

Dec 12, 2019

Norma Joyce Ablard Banasky passed away peacefully surrounded by family in Puyallup, Washington on Thursday, December 12, 2019.  Norma recently celebrated her 90th birthday in Tacoma surrounded by family. Norma was a devoted mother of two children and wife to Louis Banasky for over 50 years.  Her departure is a loss shared by family members and...

Dec 6, 2019

Dorothy Adams Gay passed away December 6, 2019 at 10:50 a.m.  She was born to Hubert and Evelyn Bussart Adams on September 2, 1935.  She graduated from Minneapolis High School and then from Brown Mackie in Salina, KS.  She met and married James Robert Browder and moved to West Memphis, AR.  While living in West Memphis, Dorothy...

Nov 29, 2019

Kennadie M. Gorrell, 15, Minneapolis, died Friday, November 29, 2019 at the Ottawa County Health Center, Minneapolis.  She was born August 5, 2004 in Salina to Christopher and Hallee (Chronister) Gorrell.

Kennadie was a sophomore at Minneapolis Junior Senior High School where she was a cheerleader.

She is survived...

Nov 28, 2019

Alta Marie Brown, 108, Delphos, died Thursday, November 28, 2019, at Pinnacle Park Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Salina, KS.  Alta was born August 12, 1911, to Andrew and Mary Kosar and was a long-time Delphos resident.

She was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Audrey K. Gibbs and a son, Denzil Lee...

Nov 21, 2019

Richard L. Huiett, 75, Minneapolis, died Thursday, November 21, 2019.  He was born in Salina on March 1, 1944 to David E. and Myrtle (Young) Huiett.

Richard lived in the area most of his life, working for Ottawa County as both a shop worker and as a maintainer grader.  He was known as...

Nov 18, 2019

Velma May Mihm, 77, Hutchinson, formerly of Tescott, died Monday, November 18, 2019.  She was born in Tescott on September 3, 1942 to Donald O. and Dorothy (Stanley) Burroughs.

She was a 1960 graduate of Tescott High School and she worked as a C.N.A. for over 30 years.   Velma and Donald Mihm were...

Nov 7, 2019

Charles Gary Rolph, loving husband, father, and grandfather died on November 7, 2019, at the Ottawa County Health Center. His life was full of family and colorful friends.

Gary was born in 1939 to Paul and Fern Rolph at the family farm outside of Delphos, Kansas joining older siblings Patricia and William.  Gary...

Nov 3, 2019

Arthur L. Weis, 82, Minneapolis, lost his battle with cancer on Sunday, November 3, 2019 at the Minneapolis Health and Rehabilitation Center.  He was born to Howard and Mae (Eckels) Weis on March 1, 1937.

He lived his entire life in Ottawa County.  Art graduated from Minneapolis High School and was his father's...

Nov 2, 2019

Candice "Candy" Mildred Cole, 63, of Bennington died Saturday, November 2, 2019.

Candy is survived by her husband of 45 years, Paul Cole, of Bennington; sons Rich and wife, Beth of Prairie Village and their two sons, Peyton and Landon; Jeremiaha "Toad" and his wife, Amy of Salina and their two sons, Gannon...